The Texas Senate on Thursday passed a controversial immigration bill that would make illegal border crossings a state crime, reports Texas Public Radio.
Senate Bill 4, which quickly moved through the upper chamber — lawmakers approved the measure just days after the state's current special legislative session — would make it a state crime for unauthorized entry into Texas from a foreign country, a class B misdemeanor on first offense.
It would also require that a state judge order the person to leave the U.S. to Mexico in lieu of prosecution.
The bill now heads to the state House.
Senators also approved Senate Bill 3, which appropriates more than $1.5 billion for construction of border barriers on the state's southern borders.
State Sen. César Blanco, a Democrat, said the laws could affect Texas residents.
"My fear is these new state offenses are going to have a chilling effect on our state, a state that is minority-majority, 41 percent Latino," he said on the Senate floor in opposition to the bill. "How many kids and adults are we going to risk wrongfully being deported or wrongfully being detained? That's what our families, that's what our communities along the border and across Texas, that's what they're worried about."
Republican lawmakers have previously attempted to pass sweeping immigration bills, but their efforts unraveled amid political bickering.
State Sen. Charles Perry, a Republican, on Wednesday said the Senate and House had come to an agreement and filed identical immigration bills.
"Our shared priority has always been securing our southern border and developing a better process to address illegal immigrants that enter the State of Texas," Perry said. "The identical bills filed today chart a new path forward for our state."
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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